There are generally two types of coffee makers today enjoying commercial success in the consumer market: (1) the drip-type, and (2) the percolation-type. The drip-type, exemplified by the Mr. Coffee line, usually includes a U-shaped base, rotated 90 degrees, that receives a coffee container. The upper portion of the arm of the base contains a coffee basket or filter assembly; the lower portion of the base underneath the receiving container includes a warming plate, a U-shaped tube assembly that has an embedded heating coil, and tubes extending upwardly from that heating assembly to a water receiving container in the vertical portion of the base, and a hot water exit tube that extends up into the top coffee basket portion of the base. These drip-type coffee makers are expensive to manufacture, contain literally dozens of parts, and are too bulky to be useable either as a travel coffee system or even a single person brewing system.
The percolation-type coffee makers are somewhat more compact because the basket and percolation tube extend into the coffee receiving container. They nevertheless require a separate coffee basket, separate percolation tube and a separate drinking cup in addition to the electric brewing container. Thus, this type of coffee maker has not achieved great commercial success as either a travel or single person- brewing system.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a coffee brewing system that is compact and consists of essentially only two parts including the drinking cup.